Not sure what I should be expecting from a cleaner?

[hillsandvalleys]

I recently employed a cleaner who has done two cleans for us. Both times I've felt a bit underwhelmed by the clean but don't know if I am being overly pedantic and wondered what other people's experiences are.

We had a two hour clean to focus on 2 rooms (bathroom and kitchen) which were not filthy to begin with. Small bathroom, medium sized kitchen.

The sorts of things I'm not happy about but may be too pedantic-

• things like shampoo bottles are left disorderly rather than lined up
• bits of food still stuck to the hob and crumbs
• not everything in the kitchen has been cleaned (eg spice rack not been cleaned)
• bins not left empty
• dirt still in nooks and crannies eg around cupboard handles and toilet seat fixtures

I don't know whether I am expecting too much of a deep clean. I also have a feeling she should be able to cover more of the house in 2 hours?

Grateful for any thoughts, it's a perfectly adequate clean but missing the wow factor which I thought having a cleaner would bring but I've never had one before and might be expecting too much?

I agree that things like the inside of and oven and cupboards aren't a usual weekly job. But the hob in my opinion would be.
As you can see everyone has different ideas and so do cleaners. Unfortunately from what I read on here and hear from my clients in the past it seems quite hard to get exactly what you're looking for.
Could you maybe do a job list for the first few weeks? That will give her an idea of your expectations.

If you are unhappy with the result then you need to find a new cleaner. I wouldn't be happy if my cleaner didn't, for example, clean the hob. On the other hand, lining up shampoo bottles wouldn't even occur to me. I think that's a bit nitpicky.

I don’t class those as extra jobs, but I also don’t leave our hob covered in food as it should be cleaned after every use, and it looks like your toilet hasn’t been thoroughly cleaned in sometime to have all the bowl under the water level brown.

@flamingo40 this post has been very enlightening and reassuring to hear that whilst some things could have been done better, it's also reasonable to expect it to take 2 hours to clean both rooms in detail. On reflection from all the different responses, I think I will try out a few other cleaners to see if there's one who is a better fit for my expectations but bear in mind that most aren't superhuman and I can't expect a spotless house top to toe in 2 hours!
I think I'm keen for someone who has a very proactive nature and can work within some general guidance rather than someone who needs lots of instruction.

@SimonJT fair point, re the hob I admit I hadn't bothered wiping it down after cooking last night as I knew everything would get cleaned today anyway
Re the toilet bowl, if I go upstairs now and swish my bog brush over that it will be gone straight away. She just missed a patch rather than couldn't get it off for trying

I'm a nanny and after our previous cleaner left I was shocked that the new cleaner doesn't take the bin out, leaves crumbs or tea stains on the side... my boss seems happy with it but I have no idea what they're paying for. I keep it a lot cleaner than she does daily. They're paying for the toilets to be cleaned and the floor to be mopped I guess but the previous cleaner did everything in the same time.

Well, I wouldn't leave it like that. If you like her as a person (this is valuable in itself) then it might be a case of setting expectations with her more clearly. Instead of "clean the kitchen", take her through the kitchen (in a cheerful way), quickly pointing out the jobs you mind most about.

I think maybe trying out others as a trial maybe a good idea.
Having been in the industry for over 10 years I know sadly some just aren't a fit.
Explain to the next person what the previous has done wrong.
That way you're setting your expectations out.
I suppose it's like any industry there's good and not so good

I don't have a cleaner and am a little lazy but wouldn't leave crumbs and visible muck..

Sounds like she isn't doing much of a clean at all.

@hillsandvalleys

This is the hob

Just showed it to DH and he asked who is cleaning that 🤣

I think 2 hours for two rooms should leave them both sparkling.

I got rid of my previous cleaner because she left stuff like this op - job not clean, dusting without lifting (very few) ornaments, liberal use of aid fresheners but little elbow grease. She closed at the beginning of lockdown and said she didn't mind if people didn't want her back (I actually think she'd taken on too much and wasn't doing a good job).

Local lady put her card through the door so I phoned her up and wow! There are 2 of them, they take about an hour and a half to do lounge, kitchen diner/3 bathrooms/1 bedroom (we don't expect teenagers bedrooms!!) plus hall/stair/landing.

I'm in while they're here (I'm disabled so can't do it myself) and they work SO hard, everything is scrubbed/polished including steam cleaning all hard floors. And they have a 4 week rota of windows/cupboards/fridge/can't remember the last one.

They're friendly to the dog, chatty enough without being intrusive, and it genuinely feels like a new house when they're done. I'm so grateful to them, they come on Tuesday (only day they had free, I would have preferred thurs/fri) but the house is still visitor standard at the weekend.

If they're not even lifting the top off your job to wipe it I'd be looking elsewhere. Some things are basic! I found my new cleaner rearranging my flowers, she wanted them to look nice from my special chair, so I'd appreciate them more!!

It's worth persevering and finding a star, the difference it makes having a gleaming and neat house and one that's just 'not filthy' is the whole point IMO.

Ours is a superstar, cleans and tidies, and can prioritise what needs doing!

@weegiemum I think that's exactly the kind of thing I am hoping for! Out of interest, what do they charge?

Thanks for all the replies. I have cancelled for now so I can try some other cleaners.